Friday 9 May: south Uist, Benbecula to North Uist

 I didn’t even need to sleep in my fleece last night! Bright skies again although there is a chilly southerly wind blowing today. We head off at 9 am along the main road which follows the flat west side of the island. The eastern side is more hilly and we go down to Lochboisdale from which the ferry departs to Malaig. We visit the house of Flora MacDonald and then the Kildonan Museum which houses an interesting collection and information about how the South Uist crofters used to live and the crafts they produced. Eventually onwards over the causeway to Benbecula where we climb Rouval, the only hill surrounded by a patchwork of lochs and waterways. Described as more loch than rock we have 360 views of the scattered dwellings like Lego thrown from the sky, the lochs, sea and hills of Skye and Harris. It’s windy but clear. Back to the van and we call in at Salar Smokery to buy locally smoked salmon rolls for lunch. Then to the Scandinavian bakery on Grimsay where we have a coffee and cinnamon roll in a community cafe which really feels like the back of beyond. Our campsite is on North Uist at Balranald and it’s a bit grey and windswept when we arrive. We’ve been spoiled. However we soon feel more at home and are excited to find a beachside sauna which we’ve booked for tomorrow. 








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